Pitching the Malamoo 3-second X-tra tent always turns heads. One second you are holding a large disc in your hands, the next second your tent has unfolded itself in the air and is falling back to ground. Peg the front and rear of the tent down, and you are done! Now have a casual glance around and don’t appear too smug that your tent is erected while everyone else has just got their tents out of their bags!

I took my Malamoo tent with me on my family’s Tasmania holiday at the end of 2010/beginning of 2011. I drove from Queensland to Tasmania, camping along the way at Narrabri Highway Tourist Villiage and Caravan Park and Devonport Discovery Holiday Park. My family flew down and we stayed in a few rented holiday accommodation places. On the way back to Queensland, I took the long way home camping at Warrnambool Surfside Holiday Park and Lake Jindabyne Discovery Holiday Park.

Malamoo 3-second X-tra tent — yes, that is Bass Strait in the background!

My most memorable night was camping in the Devonport Discovery Holiday Park on the edge of Bass Strait. There was a 30 knot breeze predicted for overnight. I put the three pegs in the base of the tent, but did not bother staking out the other guy ropes. I parked my Toyota Prado to windward of the tent, rolled out my Burke and Wills Ironbark swag, and slept a very warm and comfortable night.

The family camping next to me were not so lucky. They were in a large camper trailer tent. Apparently the tent flapped all night and they hardly got a wink of sleep. I heard their tent flapping, but knowing it was not my tent, I rolled over and went back to sleep!

Malamoo 3-second X-tra tent at Narrabri Highway Tourist Villiage and Caravan Park

The Malamoo 3-second X-tra tent folds up to a large disc shape, which sat perfectly on top of my other gear in the boot of the Prado. Forcing some air out of the bag or sitting a few other flat items on top of the tent improved visibility out the back window.

With practice, folding the tent up is easy. Just follow the instructions and you should not have a problem.

The tent has a double skin fly over the roof, providing an extra level of rain protection and also minimising condenstation inside the tent. It seemed to work well.

For me, there are three major disadvantages to the tent:

1. The tent floor is thin nylon, similar to the roof of the tent. I put some shade cloth underneath my tent to stop any sticks or stones puncturing the tent floor. I understand the floor has a 3000 mm water column rating, so it should not leak unless punctured.
2. The tent is advertised as being a 3-4 person tent. You would want to be super friendly with your camping buddies! See point three.
3. The tent is not long enough to place our two king size 4WD mattresses side by side, meaning that my wife and I can not go camping in it for quick and dirty weekends. I guess we could always buy smaller mattresses and sleep closer together …

I am very happy with my Malamoo 3-second X-tra tent. It is light, easy to erect and perfect for one or two people camping. When my children become teenagers, I am sure that they are going to want to sleep in their own tent, and this tent will be perfect.

Note: There does not appear to be a manufacturer web site for the Malamoo tents. I understand that they are distributed by Oztent though.